URGENT

[Modell]

Hello all. As many of you know, I recently got my first bird. S(he) is about 10 and a half weeks old now. Now, we live in NM. I've always lived here, though until 6 years ago, I lived in Albuquerque. We now live in a more rural area of Rio Rancho. Ever since we moved, we've had scorpions and centipedes. The centipedes are venomous. The scorpions are, despite what some may say, bark scorpions and could be deadly. Last night I had a scorpion drop on my head not long after we had just killed another one. It's summer and they're looking for water. We would spray outside, but I have toads out in the front that I raised and a big toad named Wellington that has lived there for years. In the back we have three pet box turtles, all of which love to eat bugs. Normally we put the dogs up and spray inside, but I'm concerned for my baby. Is there any spray we can use if I take her upstairs for a few hours while it dries? I'm worried that her water dishes will attract the scorpions to her cage and her food will attract crickets that scorpions and centipedes hunt. We lost a three pound chihuahua to a spider many years ago, so I know a scorpion could kill an even smaller bird. Losing my beloveded dog was one of the most awful things that has ever happened to me and I've never forgiven myself for not noticing something was wrong. I certainly could never forgive myself if something happened to one of our other dogs or my bird. My poor Gucci's mate is still alive and going strong at 14, but he weighs 7 pounds on a heavy day and loves to hunt bugs. I can't have scorpions near him either. I also dont want to take away all my bird's food and water at night either and that wouldn't guarantee her safety. I have lots of freshwater fish tanks which will attract the Scorpions regardless. Any help you guys can give would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Begone]

Very difficult to give you a good advice for that. I would never had sprayed anything in my house that can killed my birds, but on the other hand I was not wanted their to get bit either.
I hope someone here has a great advice for you but how about to just put some mosquito net over the cage as a start? It must be better than nothing.
You can build a frame that is bigger then the cage and put the net over that frame. If you do that your Tiel can't bite the net.

 

[Modell]

I would just do that, but the scorpions have the potential to kill us as well and would definitely kill our dogs. If they're actually bark scorpions, then they are the most venomous in the country. My little sister has tons of allergies, including a sun allergy. I want to protect my bird and the rest of the house too. I recently gained a scar on my arm from some sort of spider bite that hung around for weeks and I nearly died as a bay from a brown recluse bite, I still have the scar from that as well. I might try the netting for now though, thank you.

 

[barry collins]

Net your bird and net your bed. You can buy fully enclosed bed nets for anything from a mosquito to much bigger. Sprays will never be 100% effective and you can sleep secure in the knowledge a physical barrier is protecting you. It's the only thing I would trust if I was worried.... good luck.

 

[MommyBird]

Macaw & Cockatoo Rescue of New Mexico - Nonprofit Organization | Facebook

this is also in Rio Rancho, NM with birds and dogs. Maybe they have ideas if you contact them?

 

[Modell]

We've determined to keep my baby upstairs in my room for at least four days after spraying. Thank you all for the advice, I appreciate it!